Jose Mourinho is set to be rewarded for Chelsea’s title success with a two‑year contract extension.
The 52-year-old’s agreement runs until 2017 but it is understood the Blues are in advanced talks to prolong his stay at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho is already the highest paid manager in the Premier League on around £8.5million per season and the new agreement is believed to include an increase which could yet make him the game’s top earning manager.
Although nothing formal has yet been agreed, Mourinho has publicly stated his desire to stay at Chelsea “for as long as they want me” and owner Roman Abramovich is ready to sanction the deal following the club’s first title triumph in five years.
The Blues refused to comment publicly on the situation this morning but it is understood the extension could be announced before the end of the season with Chelsea having three games left after securing top spot last Sunday with a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
Mourinho and Abramovich had a fractious relationship during his first spell in charge with the former leaving the club in September 2007.
Relations soothed in the intervening years as Mourinho proved himself a winner in Italy with Inter Milan before delivering further success at Real Madrid but it was still something of a gamble on both sides to reunite in the summer of 2013.
However, Mourinho bought into Abramovich’s insistence that the club conform rigorously to UEFA’s Financial Fair Play and in turn the manager has been given the control he demands.
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Mourinho’s success in transforming Chelsea from the divided entity left by his interim predecessor, Rafael Benitez, into a team of title-winners far superior to their rivals has convinced all at the club that a sustained period of success is on the horizon again.
